Have you considered bringing a bit of the outdoors inside your home since many of us spend most (or all) of our day inside?
Not everyone has the luxury of a yard or even a patio to be able to spend time outdoors.
The outdoors tends to help people feel more peaceful, and who can't benefit from that?
If you could use a little more calm in your hectic life, consider these ideas for bringing the outdoors inside your home.
photo courtesy of kaboompics.com/photo/4640/green-seedling-planted-in-a-glass-pot
Natural Items Instead of Man Made
Natural Materials
When designing your home, select finishes that are natural instead of man made. Select wood floors instead of ceramic tile and stone countertops instead of solid surfacing. Beware of products that sound like they are natural but are actually little bits of natural items set in a manmade substrate, such as cultured marble or quartz.
Natural Furniture
For an outdoor feel, use stained wood furniture instead of painted wood or metal. For example, opt for a stained wood coffee table instead of one made of metal, glass, or painted wood.
Natural Accessories
Bring natural accessories inside your home from outdoors. You can display sea shells, pine cones, twigs, logs, rocks, acorns, nuts, or anything else that you find interesting. You can purchase these items, but finding them yourself adds a personal element to your accessories.
Room with a View
Even if you don't have a garden or patio, try to open your curtains and blinds to have a view of the outside.
Maybe even wash your windows to let a bit more light inside.
If your view is of a brick wall or something else undesirable, use sheer curtains to disguise the ugly view but let the outdoor light in.
You can even add a window box to your window for a view of whatever plants or flowers you plant.
Make sure to hang your curtains so that they cover your wall and only the smallest amount of your window when fully opened so you can maximize the view.
Earth Tones
Stick to the soft earth tone colors of green, brown, tan, and blue to bring outdoor colors inside your home.
Avoid unique, bold, and fluorescent colors if you desire a natural color scheme.
Live Plants
Add live plants, trees, and flowers to your home to bring a little outdoors in.
Houseplants actually clean the air in your home, providing an extra benefit.
Avoid fake, silk, and artificial flowers and plants that tend to just collect dust.
If you can't keep plants alive, consider decorating with fresh fruit, nuts, twigs, or vegetables instead.
Consider adding plants to your garden that have beautiful greenery and/or flowers so you can use those cuttings inside your home.
Art of Nature
The art on your walls inside your home can be nature scenes to help remind you of the outdoors.
You can purchase someone else's art or you can use your own photographs that you took of your favorite landscapes, a pretty flower, a glorious tree, or a beautiful waterfall.
Fresh Air
Open up your windows once in a while to air out your home.
Don't just open one window, you need to open one window on each side of your home to create cross ventilation.
If your outdoor air quality is worse than your indoor air quality, consider investing in an air purifier #ad.
